Precipitation, Our Friend?

Hello,

I worked yesterday with a closing time of 8:00 pm. There was some talk about more snow to come, but any time I looked out I did not see it. No patrons talked about anything coming from the sky. That felt good.

When I got to the car I found that there was a film on the windows. Uh oh, it did not wipe off with my glove. The ice scrapper took it off, but pressure had to be applied. As usual I did the back window first before tackling the front. The windshield wipers were not stuck which seemed like a good sign.

After turning on the car, backing out and getting to the corner, the front window was again coated. The wipers were not very effective. I could see, but it was a little fuzzy. Front and back defroster were turned on. About a mile or two later the, view was worse except for a hole that was close to the bottom of the window.  I kept going another two miles hoping it would clear. When it did not I turned into a street that would take me to a filling station where I could safely scrape that window. Just as I pulled into the station the window cleared. Soon I was back on the road, but still with a great deal of caution as it was unclear how slippery the road was.

Even after I was on that interstate I crept along with a few others. Now my windshield was getting covered once more. I turned the heat up to about 80 hoping that would make all the difference. It helped some, but not as much as I wanted. Perhaps changing direction made the difference between clear and coated.

I took the hospital exit, assuming that it would be passible. It was fine. Then I used the main street for a mile or so. The street closer to my house was not so good, but passable. The alley was the real challenge. The only time I slipped was getting into the garage. Once more I was grateful to make it home.

How can there be freezing rain when the temperature is 19 degrees F.?

Paula

Serious Walking

Hello,

Walking to church yesterday took some serious concentration. There was a combination of cold, ice, water, wind, and snow. The entire winter scene was presented in one day. Leroy has some grippers that he can clip on his boots which give great traction. I wore my shorter, better gripping boots that are not so water proof. Most of the water we saw was under the ice. I stepped carefully on that ice hoping it would be strong enough to hold my weight. Much of the ice in street pot holes was there because of the salt that had been added. The temp was above zero, but by the time I got to church my legs were quite cold.

On the way home we saw a girl trying to get her car out of the parking spot. She was attacking the strangle hold of ice with a pointed shovel. You can tell Leroy and I are not college students. We were bundled to the max. This girl had no hat, gloves, or coat. Her bright red skin testified to some cold. We tried to push her car. With the first rev of the front wheel, water sprayed in my face and down my coat. We tried to chop off some of the ice in the back to no avail. We pushed some more, but left in defeat.

On the way back to church for choir practice, she was still there. We did not offer to help again as it had not worked before. Once again on the way home from church, we could see that her car was gone. Amazing! However as we went past another car the guy rolled down the window and asked if we could help. They also were having trouble with the car stuck in water on ice. The girl, who had on boots that were water proof, stood on the side of the car with the most water. The guy had on sneakers, no water proof there. Leroy and I were on the side with not so much water.

After warnings to be careful, the guy started counting one, two, three, letting us know when he was going to apply the gas. Somehow Leroy, this girl, and I started pushing and releasing on the back of the car with each count. The car started rocking and with the gas it moved out of the hole.

The guy then stopped even though I yelled, “Keep going!”

Sure enough when he tried to move again he could not. We went through the same pushing routine and he went to the end of the block, turned around and came back. They were so happy and grateful for the help. As they said, “We have been trying to get out for an hour! Thank You!”

It was good to give some successful help. Also I think it is good for the college students to see that many of the neighbors are ok people. Some of them consider this an unsafe place to be and just mostly stay on campus. With all this walking and helping I had 12,000 steps. When we went back to church in the evening we actually drove.

Paula

Helping Nieghbors

Hello,

Yesterday Leroy and I were out front chopping up the last of the ice on the sidewalk before the next storm. It was in the 30’s so felt very nice and productive. A guy walked up and asked if he could borrow an ice chopper. Leroy, who had our chopper, collected mine which is really our landlord’s and went off with this man. After a bit I thought about going to help shovel. Even though I had seen them turn at the street corner I could not see them when I got to that street. I went back in the house. Much later, Leroy was not home. Then I started to think of things that were not good. I had no idea who this man was or where he lived. Leroy did not have his phone with him. What if he had a heart attack, how would I ever learn about it?

After scolding myself, I tended to other tasks. It was again a long time before the back door finally opened. What a relief! Leroy said that this guy took him almost six blocks away. His mother had called about a neighbor of hers who had ice damming water which was threatening to get in her house. She told her son he was to come over and fix it. Unfortunately his shovel did not do the job.

Leroy said it was a hard job with very thick ice, but this guy attacked it with such vigor that Leroy was afraid he might have a heart attack! Another neighbor came over and helped as well.

Finally they got the job done.

Course then Leroy still had to walk home. But he was happy to have helped out. Sometimes troubles bring out some good connections between people.

Paula

Impulse Buy

Hello,

Yesterday when doing my weekly shopping I spotted a plant that had been promoted as a valentine. Now it was marked down to about half the original cost. I have never had an athurtium plant before. It is rather attractive. The care looked simple: just water once a week and keep out of direct sun. Well, advice on the internet had some additional instructions. It is to be in a hot and humid space. Our living quarters are neither hot nor humid. I assume it will last as long as cut flowers would last. I will enjoy it until it is done.

I did not really need more blooming plants. Four amaryllis flowers are done, but one is still open all the way while four more are getting ready to open. Some violets blossoms are still looking great along with the shamrock. One white cactus flower is ready to open. This morning I notice that the pink Christmas cactus has two more buds. Then of course the four red and two white poinsettias look just delightful. Those flowers always help me to feel good.

Flowers are a nice impulse buy because it is not so much man made although it is transported a great distance from home so that is not so good for the environment. I have a clivia that has bloomed twice in about 12 years. A friend gave me the start. At the school in Slovakia, the clivia plant bloomed every year. It is to be in a cold room and not watered for about three months. Again the temperature does not quite fit the requirements. Oh what to do? Too hot for one and too cold for the other!

Good thing Leroy and I agree on the temperature or at least we can adjust by putting on more clothes or taking off some clothes.

Paula

Attitudes

Hello,

People have been complaining for some time about the snow that seems to arrive every other day. Last night at work the talk seemed to lean more in the direction of “where are we going to put this new snow when it comes tonight? The piles are so large that I cannot get more on the top of them.” Some of this was followed by a description of what they have managed to do so far.

We have had 40 to 50 inches of snow this winter. Included were a couple of good melting days that significantly lowered the piles in preparation for the next snow. After the snow last night and this morning the temps have risen so it is melting once again.

The prediction was for the snow to start an hour after I left work; instead it came more than an hour before I was to leave. When my co worker was done with bedtime books, she offered me the chance to leave early. She lives in town so did not have so far to go. I accepted that offer, cleared most of the snow off the car, and got on the road. It was a task to clear the car because the snow was coming quite furiously so I would get one side clean and the other would be covered again. I did the back window then the front and hopped in ignoring any other snow.

At home Leroy helped me clear a path to the garage. He was surprised I was home early as he had not realized it was already snowing. Snow is rather quiet stuff.

My drive home was slow, but not so scary. Or at least I did not slip.

Paula

Iowa Skiing

Hello,

We are getting the predicted amount of snow, lots of it. We have shoveled twice, but it is still snowing. Leroy wanted to go cross country skiing. We have not done that for several years, perhaps four. Getting the skis down involved a bit of maneuvering in the garage since they were stored up in the rafters.

At least the boots still fit and they are easy to put on and lace. The next harder step was to remember how to connect the boots to the skis. That took a bit more time and struggle. Leroy especially had some trouble with that. However once his skis were attached he took off much faster than I could manage. We only travel on the flat because I am scared of any slope. We headed off to the bike trail using the alley and the street from time to time to make the connection. Few cars were on the road so it was not really a problem.

Once on the trail I felt safer, but I still could not keep up with Leroy. He would pause for me from time to time. It was great to meet some acquaintances from our neighborhood. They were on snow shoes and moving along with more stability than we were. While we were talking, a guy on a bike with big, or snow, tires came by. I am happy to see others out using their bodies and enjoying the outdoors.

Here are some pictures we posted on line.  

I was happy that I got my 10,000 steps just when I was wondering if it really was fun. I smiled at the accomplishment and energy returned.

Paula

Warmer or Just Attitude?

Hello,

This morning it was 1F degree above zero when I left for church for a women’s breakfast. I bundled up. Before I arrived I was warm. By the time I got there I was sweating lightly. Amazing! The sun was shining and there was no wind. Right away after stepping out, it seemed quite comfortable. My friend wondered if I had walked. I replied, “I did and I am quite warm now.”

They were surprised. Perhaps they even think I am a little odd.

On my trip home I did not put on quite so many warm things, but I was still heated up by the time I arrived at home.

In the afternoon when the temperature was in the 20s F. I could see the remainder of the ice melting a bit. Leroy and I both went out with shovels and choppers. We managed to extract quite a lot of the remainder. We even went down to the corner of our street. Leroy chopped off the barrier to the street that the snow plow had left behind. I spent a little time trying to get up some of the ice down there. For some reason they had not done their usual good job clearing the sidewalk.

We then spent some time working in back of our garage even though it was fairly clear. It is rather fun to get up ice when it yields so easily.

Between walking to church and chopping ice I recorded 11,470 steps. What an accomplishment!

Paula